Saving the Ashes-a ‘part-time’ job! - By guest writer Mani Thangadurai

From what has been seen (or not!) in Australia’s two-day match against Essex, England probably won't have much to worry about the probable Australian attack for the Oval. Adam Gilchrist's side were without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, and the visibly toothless attack was pummelled for over 500 runs in Essex’s first innings, with only Mike Kasprowicz and Shaun Tait picking up wickets among the party. The biggest piece of news was that leg-spinner Stuart MacGill's 24 wicketless overs went for 128 runs at a rate of 5.33. Now there was talk of him quite possibly coming into the side for the final Test at the Oval in order to give Ricky Ponting another spinning option and possibly to exploit England's shakiness against deliveries from the back of the hand. Well, if any of the English batsmen had been watching the course of events today, they might just be licking their lips at that prospect!

To be fair, MacGill is a good bowler, but he's no Shane Warne. The New South Welshman does have a pretty good record in Test Cricket, including splendid statistics against England, but as a bowler he probably doesn't quite have the same variety or drift and fizz in his bowling that Warne possesses, and it was always going to be difficult for him to perform having just come back into competitive cricket. The fact that former Australian captain and selector Allan Border once said that Warne would get straight back into the team after one of his suspensions despite MacGill's form sums it up.

Of course, on the question of whether MacGill would or should be drafted in, I would probably call it a sign of desperation in Australia's ranks, and in particular the all-important balance of the side would be greatly affected. Not much is known about the fitness of McGrath, and certainly his condition and availability for the Test will be crucial to Australia's hopes of retaining the Ashes.

The most likely scenario is that if McGrath is fit, he will definitely get back into the side ahead of Kasprowicz, leaving Tait and MacGill to fight over the final spot. And on that note, it might not make any sense at all to drop the youngster, who made a good impression on his debut, especially since despite being expensive he was able to cause a bit of discomfort for the batsmen. Both Tait and MacGill are also, like McGrath, genuine rabbits, so the question of including both of them and lengthening the tail is out.

This series has certainly been notable for the unexpectedly below-average displays by some of the Australian bowlers, with the exceptions of Warne, McGrath and Lee. Jason Gillespie has been completely out of sorts, Kasprowicz has been a disappointment, and the amount of extras conceded so far was enough to leave John Buchanan hopping mad. Such has been the bowlers' profligacy that England were able to post scores of over 400 in three successive tests, which certainly made a difference in the light of this contest.

Often in situations like this, desperation brings about necessity, and here, necessity could prove to be the breeder of inspiration! What do you do when your specialists don't fire? Simple-turn to your part-timers!

Ricky Ponting is himself only a part-time seamer, but arguably his best performance as captain came at Trent Bridge where he almost orchestrated an unlikely win in the fourth innings. In the first innings, prior to that wonderful partnership, he had England in a bit of bother when, frustrated at the lack of a breakthrough, decided, "If I want a wicket, I might as well try my luck!" And he then proceeded to bowl 6 overs of medium-quickish pace, getting a few to swing quite prodigiously, and was rewarded with the wicket of his English counterpart Michael Vaughan, who until then was looking set for a huge score. Ponting's figures were simply beautiful: 6 overs, 2 maidens, 1 for 9, but rather surprisingly he didn't bring himself on afterwards. Unlike his main seamers, he was able to cause more than a few problems for the batsmen that day, kept it simple, and was able to reap some reward of sorts!

Then comes the question of another spinner to possibly lend a bit of support to Shane Warne. Michael Clarke could have been quite handy, but his back problem has ensured that he has so far refrained from bowling even a single delivery in this Ashes. And then there's the small matter of Simon Katich. I expect him to be in the side, given his value to the middle order, and also has the ability to bowl some useful left-arm chinaman. His solitary 5-wicket haul (6, in fact!) may have come against Zimbabwe, but anyone who has seen him bowl will know about his ability to possibly tie up an end or two.

Now as some of you may know, I'm the last person on this earth to suggest that any part-time bowler should be made to practice his bowling in the nets and bowl more overs, especially since they do have a level of unpredictability about them which often makes captains think twice about bowling them for longer spells.

But assuming that Australia do continue with a three-man seam attack and a solitary spinner in Warne in order to maintain their balance, I would say that Ponting and Katich would certainly have an important role to play in proceedings, especially since they can, as we all know, provide some vital breakthroughs. Particularly with England's shakiness against leg-spin still being raised, it probably does make all the more sense to try and have a two-man attack, and if Katich does come on to bowl along with Warne in tandem, it would certainly result in an interesting left-right combination which might just be enough to cause problems. And maybe Ponting himself can bring himself on in order to rest one of his seamers. The trick here is really to make the most of whatever you can get under the circumstances, and it is here that in my view, given the still clear uncertainty of most of England's batsmen on how to try and dominate tight bowling, these guys could just make a difference.

If Australia are serious about saving the Ashes, then not only do they need to make some responsible selections, but they must look within themselves to try and find some rousing performances and rise to the occasion. Tinkering with the bowling attack won't be the answer. If Ponting and Katich can step up and possibly make themselves counted with the ball, it might add a new dimension to the Australian attack and perhaps, just perhaps, influence the performance of both teams on the field come the 8th of September. The ball is now firmly in their hands, and now it's time for them to either put up a fight, or turn off the lights!

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